Tim Nelson
Ah, spring. The snow melts. The robins sing.
St. Paul is going broke.
This is actually the first year in many that I haven’t watched from the 3rd floor windows at City Hall as the trees leaf out on Kellogg Boulevard. But I took at least some comfort this week, as both papers reported multi-million dollar budget deficit projections in St. Paul.
Some things do never change.
The number goes up and down, but it’s practically as reliable as a spring ice out. I went back and looked, out of curiosity, at what had been reported for the last 10 years.
Here’s the rundown of projected “next year” deficits, as reported in April and May of the listed year.
2008: $13.1 million
2007: $16 million
2006: $16.5 million
2005: $16 million
2004: $17 million
2003: $33 million
2002: $6 million
2001: ($10 million)
2000: $7.3 million
1999: $7 million
There was no mention of a deficit in the spring of 2001 (heady days, indeed!), although I’ll credit Norm Coleman for that year trying, unsuccessfully, to give out a $10 million tax rebate. All told, it adds up to about $106 million in total projected deficits.
Drop the rebate outlier and the conflagration of 2003 and its about $12.3 million, on average per year.
Now, go out and enjoy the day.
